Tioman Island

"Paulo Tymon", Nieuhof: Ambassade vers la Chine, 1665

Tioman has been used for thousands of years by fishermen as an important navigation point and a source of fresh water and wood.[2] During the past thousand years, it has played host to Chinese, Arab, and European trading ships, and often Chinese porcelain shards can be found on beaches around the island.

In more recent history, Tioman played host to both the British and the Japanese navies during the Second World War, and the waters around the island are littered with war remains (including HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales).

Tioman island does not allow buildings to have more than 3 stories.

The marine area around Tioman Island and eight other nearby islands have been declared as marine parks and marine reserves.[2]

Apart from its diverse marine life, the inland rainforest area was protected in 1972 as the Pulau Tioman Wildlife Reserve. However, a large part of the original reserve was sacrificed for agricultural and touristic development in 1984; the remaining area is approximately 8,296 ha (20,500 acres). There are several protected species of mammals on the island, including the binturong, long-tailed macaque, slow loris, black giant squirrel, red giant flying squirrel, mouse deer, brush-tailed porcupine, and common palm civet, from a total of 45 species of mammals and 138 species of birds, including the majestic frigatebird.[2] Moreover, Tioman has species that are endemic to its shores. The Tioman walking catfish Clarias batu can be seen on rainforest walks.[3] Kajang slender litter frog is only known from Mount Kajang.[4]

Tioman's corals have been affected by a mass bleaching event in 2010 whereby the island lost a significant portion of its live coral cover. That resulted in a lot of the corals turning a dull white colour and some even fragmenting into pieces of dead coral skeleton. The 2016 bleaching event only just touched on Tioman's Coral Reefs, and as such, the coral has remained in good and healthy condition.

Tioman Island lends its name to the state constituency of Tioman, comprising the island and part of the Rompin District including the town of Kuala Rompin. Its representative to the State Legislative Assembly is Mohd. Johari Hussain from UMNO-Barisan Nasional. Its representative to the Malaysian Parliament is Hasan Ariffin, also from UMNO-Barisan Nasional.

• Juara Turtle Project- volunteer sea turtle and environmental conservation

A picture of a wooden tomb with Tioman Island's legend written on it.

According to legend, Tioman Island is the resting place of a beautiful dragon princess.[1] Whilst flying to visit her prince in Singapore, this beautiful maiden stopped to seek solace in the crystal-clear waters of the South China Sea. Enraptured by the charms of the place, she decided to discontinue her journey. By taking the form of an island, she pledged to offer shelter and comfort to passing travelers.

Local mythology claims that the island is the embodiment of the mighty dragon Sri Gumom. The dragon was on his way to visit his sister Gunung Linga (Lingin Peak) but the great Sri Rama forbade the meeting and Sri Gumom was turned into a stone and fell into the deep sea where he now remains, frozen in eternity as this beautiful island with its distinctive topography.

• Tioman Airport
• List of islands of Malaysia
• List of islands in the South China Sea

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tioman.

• Tioman Island travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Tioman Island Travel Information Website
• Tourism Malaysia - Tioman Island
• The Biodiversity of Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia (Supplement 6 of the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology)
• Tioman island Travel Informations